SME tonearms on a japanese market

@stringreen

Looking for another arm to buy. $1500 range. For me aesthetics is important. Yes, I agree, may not be a very justified or smart attitude. For the reason I don’t find SME 4 or 5 appealing because of the looks. They are excellent arms, I heard quite of a few very high opinions from elders of the tribe, just not the looks. I like more "classical" style, so I looked over SME 3009 and saw a deversity with the price a bit below what I thought I should see. At least thouse I saw on ebay from sellers located in Japan. Certainly I should probably consider this fact as an indication of the number of SME’s sold to Japan back then, which may be more of a "pro" rather than a "con".

@noromance 

Yes, exactly what I was looking at, thank you! The one doubt I have with this model is the knife- edge bearing, may be just because I don't know how this works exactly. Would you say it's an empty concern of mine? :) 

Thank you all. The fedback was helpful to ironout the decision. Received the Jelco 850S 9'' today. Looks impressive. I like the counterweight :) and how it slides on the stem. Now to the mounting setup. I want to mount and try both Amber The Tribute and Acutex that I have. Can't wait!